In 1888, Daniel L. Gifford ― an American missionary in Korea, wrote:"The drink curse is widely prevalent in Korea. The liquors are of two kinds; one white and thick, the other a clear liquid. They are made from rice, barley or wheat. Saloons are frequent, with sauerkraut and liquor for sale. Maudlin sots or drunken brawls, with men tugging at each other's top-knots are, alas, a common sight upon the streets." Men were not the only drunks. An American naval officer visiting Seoul in early 1884 recalled his first encounter with a Korean drunk ― "an old woman, over sixty, drunk and happy, trying to support herself with her long staff, but eventually tripping over a pile of beans in the market place. She was kindly helped to her feet, smiling, and reclining, everyone she passed giving her a friendly set up to keep her on her feet." The upper class also excessively partook of the "spirituous liquors." Isabella Bird Bishop, an elderly English travel-writer popular for her amusing and often opinionated observations, wrote: "[Drunkenness] is an outstanding feature in Korea. And it is not disreputable." She went on say, "A great dignitary even may roll on the floor drunk at the end of a meal, at which he has eaten to repletion, without losing caste, and on becoming sober receives the congratulations of inferiors on being rich enough to afford such a luxury."

Punishment for drinking at the American gold mines 1900

In 1884, an Englishman, through a "series of most careful experiments with Scotch whiskey" ascertained that Koreans were more than able to hold their alcohol and attributed the unconscious state of many of the drunkards he encountered on the streets as being the result of the high alcohol content of the Korean liquor and over-indulgence.In 1900, Horace N. Allen (American Minister to Korea) described soju as "a water-white spirit of strong smell and fiery taste" and claimed that it was the drink of choice in Pyongyang. Allen claimed the Pyongyang men had "but one aim in life and that is to get enough money to buy a good drink of soju." He was convinced that soju dangerously enflamed the violent tendencies of that region's citizens and tried to convince the Korean government to ban the sale of all alcohol ― at least soju ― in that area. The astonished Korean official refused. However, the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company, an American-owned gold mine north of Pyongyang, was able to enact laws on its concession and punished violators severely.